Some Friendships Last
by Darrien Criss the Domestic
Summary: Mercedes and Rachel are cousins who meet at a funeral. When they become unexpected friends, will they stay best friends forever or will they go their seperate ways?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1:**

"Rachel. Pay respect to your grandmother." Leroy urged. Rachel looked up at her father with big confused eyes.

"Daddy. I didn't know her. We never went around her because she never wanted to see me or she was sick." Rachel said, slightly annoyed.

For a 9 year old, Rachel Berry was always aware of how people were when it came to her dads. Leroy was the outcast of his family. He grew up in a strict baptist household with two homophobic parents. He was often the odd one out because he wanted to be "the biggest black man on broadway." When his dreams weren't realized, he was ridiculed for a long time and stayed away from his family whenever necessary.

"I don't care, Rachel. She was still your grandma, and you're still supposed to respect her." He said sternly as he patted his daughters little head.

She rolled her eyes at her father's remark and folded her arms. The funeral was boring and she was hungry and tired.

When the service and burial were over, she and her dad sat with his cousins and their kids. All of the other boys and girls were running about dancing to popular songs while Rachel sat next to her father and listened to his iPod.

"Uncle Leroy! Is that your daughter?" A small pudgy chocolate girl asked. She had round cheeks, and bright white smile, and dark brown straightened hair down past her shoulders.

He nodded. "Mercedes this is your cousin Rachel."

Rachel didn't hear her father call her name and she stayed looking down at the ipod. Mercedes walked up to her and tapped her on the shoulder. Rachel looked up, saw Mercedes smiling down at her, and paused the music.

"Hi, I'm Mercedes Jones." Rachel smiled at her and shook her hand. "I'm Rachel Berry."

Leroy's heart fluttered at the sight of his daughter making friends with family. He was sure that she would leave the funeral with nothing good to say about her family. Rachel had a hard time making friends, especially with Leroys family and friends considereing the fact that she didn't get along with black kids very well. She was always talking about musicals and Barbra Streisand, while the other kids were talking about BET and the new song by some rapper.

"Can I sit with you?" Mercedes asked hoping to get to know her cousin better. Rachel nodded happily and pulled out a chair.

"Where's your other dad?"

"Business trip. Dad is supposed be out to but this is a family emergency. Where's your dad?"

"He stepped out to take a phone call. He's the really tall guy with the bluetooth in his ear."

Rachel looked around and spotted him getting a soda from someone behind a counter. He walked toward the girls with two orange sodas and wide smile across his face.

"Hi girls! I see you've met your cousin Rachel. Nice to meet you! I'm your Cousin Allen, but you can call me your uncle."

Rachel waved and Leroy hugged his cousin. "Allen, you've gotten so tall!" Leroy said to the 6'4 man.

"And you've gotten older!" He playfully shoved the small man. They continued their conversation and same did Mercedes and Rachel as they finished their sodas.

"So Rachel what kind of music do you listen to?"

Rachel thought for a minute, trying to keep he answer short. "Broadway."

Mercedes raised her eyebrows. "Really? Not to sound rascist but I thought you would like pop music or something."

"I do, but I listen to musical soundtracks more than anything. I want to be on broadway when I grow up." She beamed happily.

Mercedes's eyes lit up at the sound of Rachels aspirations to be a star. She too wanted to be a queen of musical theatre, but she never had anyone to share her dreams with. "No way! I want to be on Broadway too!"

"What's your favorite song from a musical?" Rachel asked excitedly.

"Uh... Impossible from Rodger and Hammerstein's Cinderella. The one with Whitney Houston."

Rachel paused. "I don't recall seeing that one. I probably saw it before, but I've seen so many I don't remember all of them."

Mercedes's jaw dropped in shock. "You don't know if you've ever seen it? Its the best Cinderella in the world!"

Rachel shrugged and Mercedes just blew it off. "My favorite musical is Funny Girl. Fanny Brice is my spirit animal."

Mercedes raised an eyebrow. "Who?"

Rachel's heart skipped a beat and she held her hand to her chest. "You have never seen Funny Girl?"

Mercedes shook her head with an "uh-uh."

Rachels cheeks grew red with embarassment and she looked around the room. There was a kareoke machine on a stage with two microphones.

"Can you sing?" Rachel asked nervously.

Mercedes shook her head. "Can you?"

Rachel did the same and without hesitation or a single word they both ran up to the stage and retrieved a microphone.

"Oh my! Look at our babies!" Leroy said to Allen as they turned in astonishment at the two small girls taking the stage.

"Hello Jones and Berry families!" Mercedes said into her microphone. "I'm Mercedes and this is Rachel and we're gonna sing!"

The whole room cheered on the two girls and clapped as the into of "Tell Me Something Good" by Chaka Khan.

* * *

**(A/N: This idea kind of came to me one night when I was reading Leroys wikia page. I know that Rachel is technically fully white, but since that is one of her fathers, Mercedes could still be her cousin. I think everyone needs to show the Mercachel friendship (I totally just made that name up) some love. And if I possibly offended anyone with the statements that black kids love rappers, lame dances, and BET, go away because I'm just making a generalization based off of the kids I know. Although if I offended you, I shouldve offended myself, too. But I didn't. I kind of made Rachel awkward around her black side of the family because I'm black and I get all excited about singing and things like that and most black kids don't like me at all. I personally believe its because I refuse to dance to the stuff they dance to and I talk really proper (unlike everyone else). R&R please.)**


	2. Chapter 2

"Dad! Mercedes is here!" Rachel screamed as she ran out to the driveway of her home.

Leroy jogged outside to help the small girl with her bags. Mercedes's father stepped out of the black BMW and grabbed a suitcase and a duffel bag from the trunk of the car.

"Thanks for letting her stay for the summer, Lee. She's really excited to meet Rachel's friends."

Leroy guided Allen up to Rachels room where the girls were already organizing where Mercedes's things were going.

Allen said goodbye to his daughter and his cousins and drove off. Shortly after Allen's departure, a blue convertable pulled into the driveway and out ran little Kurt Hummel with his over-night bag.

"Rachel! I got here as fast as your dad would drive!" He screamed running up the stairs of the house he categorized as a second home.

Kurt was trying to catch his breath when he got to Rachel's room and saw Mercedes. His eyes trailed up and down her body and a smile grew on his face. Kurt, no doubt, had a crush on the girl and it was safe to say that she felt the same way.

Rachel ran to hug her best friend and introduced him and her cousin to one another. "Mercedes, Kurt. Kurt, Mercedes." They shook hands and one of the Berry men called them downstairs for dinner.

All of the kids sat down and waited for the two boxes of pizza to be brought to the table. Hiram sat the boxes down, separated them, and opened them. He looked over at Mercedes and walked over to her.

"You must be Mercedes! Its nice to meet you, sweetheart. I'm Hiram but you can call me Uncle Harry. That's what Kurt calls me." He gave her a kiss on the forehead and went back into the kitchen to fetch their drinks.

"I like your house Rachel. Its really nice." Mercedes commented.

"Thank you. I'm so happy you're gonna be here all summer! We have so much fun stuff planned!" Rachel said excitedly.

The girls and Kurt discussed summer plans until they had finished eating and went for a walk to the park. At the swingset Rachel saw Noah Puckerman and Finn Hudson racing.

"You see them?" Rachel said as she pointed to the boys. "That's Noah and Finn. I love Finn and we're gonna get married."

Kurt laughed at Rachel's fantasies and Rachel poked out her bottom lip. Mercedes looked around and saw a boy with straight blond hair, big lips, and a guitar and nudged her cousin.

"What about him? He's cute."

Rachel scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Sam Evans. He's pretty quiet. I heard he was nice but he doesn't really talk to anyone... except that guitar."

Mercedes kept her dark brown eyes locked on the boy and before she could top herself, she was walking over to the grass where the boy was sitting. As she got closer she noticed that he was playing a song, and he didn't notice her approaching.

_/I'm givin' up this restless life_  
_My wayward friends_  
_The bad advice they give._  
_I'm settlin' down_  
_To keep you company._

_I'm starting over_  
_One more time _  
_A change of heart_  
_I've crossed that line again_

_It took me _  
_All this time to see_  
_That what we've got is_

_Something short of paradise_  
_A little bit less_  
_Than we might like_

_I know this ain't heaven._  
_It's close enough for me._  
_I know this ain't heaven._  
_It's close as ill ever be./_

She tapped him on the shoulder and he jumped. "Woah! Hi. Uh... did you hear that?"

She apologized for scaring him and said yes. "You're a good singer... and guitar player."

He smiled shyly at the compliment and asked her name.

"Mercedes Jones."

"Sam Evans."

They sat in awkward silence for a moment and Mercedes decided to break the awkwardness. "What was that song you were singing? It was really good."

"Something Short of Paradise. I don't know who it's by but my grandma used to sing it to me when I was a baby."

She smiled at the cool tone in his voice and asked him to play another song. He happily accepted a song request and strummed the chords to Somewhere Over the Rainbow from the Wizard of Oz.

_/Somewhere over the rainbow_  
_Way up high_  
_There's a land that I dreamed of_  
_Once in a lullaby_

_Somewhere over the rainbow_  
_Skies are blue_  
_And the dreams that you dare to dream_  
_Really do come true_

_Someday ill wish upon a star_  
_And wake up where the clouds are far behind_  
_Me_

_Where trouble melt like lemon drops_  
_High above the chimney tops _  
_That's where_  
_You'll find me._

_Oh somewhere over the rainbow _  
_Blue birds fly_  
_Birds fly over the rainbow_  
_Why then oh why can't I?_  
_I?/_

She applauded and Rachel yelled for her across the playground. "I guess its time for me to go... but ill be around here all sunmer so maybe we'll see each other again?" She said as she stood up and walked away slowly.

"Sure. See you again Mercedes!"

"See you again Sam!"

She went back to Rachel blushing and neither Kurt or her cousin dared to ask what had happened.

**(A/N: Okay, I think its safe to say that Mercedes has gotten over her crush on Kurt and moved on to Sam. There will be no HBICs as long as they are kids because Quinn is still Lucy when they are all nine. I know its stupid to go and not follow any real glee storylines except the "half black" Rachel and the Kurtcedes Crush thing but its my story and ill write it like this if I want to. Reviews are loooooved)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Mercedes's POV**

After that summer at Rachel's place I started noticing some changes between us. We were still best friends and all, but she became rather big-headed and conceited.

I moved to Lima with my mom and dad, because I was getting tired of the south. Its always hot, boring, and I really wanted to meet some new people so I convinced my parents to up and move so I could be closer to Rach.

We were about 12, then. The beginning of middle school. Kurt started acting like Uncle Harry, Rachel turned into a theatre brat, and I started obtqining diva-like qualities from hanging out with Rachel. The only difference between mine and hers were that Rachel thought she was a star and I demanded to be treated like a star. She started getting picked on, too.

The kids would call her mean names and she would go home crying once a month.

As for me, no one seemed to want to mess with me. Maybe they thought I would do something unnecessary if they accidentally bumped into me in the hallway or something. I don't know.

There were upsides to middle school though. Sam and I became good friends and we would sing together everyonce in a while. I'd help him watch his brother and sister sometimes, and we went out a few times on group dates with Rachel, Kurt, Finn, and Puck (Noah's nickname).

Rachel and I started butting heads. Normally about small things like who gets to be the lead when we do kareoke, who sings better, and which girl's night movie was better between Mean Girls and Sugar and Spice.

When high school started it got worse. She started getting self-consious. Instead of picking up bad behaviors like self harm and alchoholism, she became a total control freak. I do feel bad for the girl, though. I would turn into a complete mess if people picked on me constantly.

But that was still no excuse to go around bossing everyone.

I remember when Rachel and I were little girls, we promised we would be best friends forever... with Kurt, too.

I wonder if we'll keep our promise or if we'll go our separate ways like everyone else.

I don't know right now. Only time will tell I suppose.


End file.
